Suchergebnisse

The G20 has produced mixed results. After initial high hopes and some success, negotiations within the G20 forum have slowed, progress is less visible and disagreement rather than agreement has come to the fore. Against this background, this paper revisits the basic economic and geopolitical motivations for the G20, in order to review its performance and attempt to draw lessons for the path ahead. We conclude that: (1) in today's global economy (with its trade and financial market integration and its institutional architecture) a 'G20-type' institution is necessary - if it didn't exist, it should be created; (2) the G20 had its high noon moment in 2008-09 and some recalibration of expectations was inevitable, but its achievements in 2010-11 have nevertheless been disappointing; (3) to be fair there is, in detailed and technical work, more progress than there seems to be at first sight; (4) from a governance standpoint, the G20 is not an efficient forum; improvements in working methods are urgently needed; (5) more fundamentally, for the G20 to retain its role, its members need to develop a common vision of global economic problems and the way to approach them.

Marine ecosystems around the globe are increasingly affected by human activities such as fisheries, shipping, offshore petroleum developments, wind farms, recreation, tourism and more. Whereas the necessity and urgency to regulate and plan competing marine spatial claims is growing, the planning and regulation of these claims is even more difficult than on land, among others because of insufficient data and knowledge on how ecosystems are affected, the international dimension of marine ecosystems and, as yet, poorly validated Marine Spatial Planning practices. The main question in this paper is: what exactly defines the high level of complexity of Marine Spatial Planning (MSP), and, given the strong transnational dimension of MSP, what can be done to integrate and harmonize the various planning practices of the EU member states? In this paper, the authors present the use of an international simulation-game (with 68 international MSP professionals in Lisbon, 3 November 2011) to conduct an expert panel study on MSP, both in the real and gamed countries. In order to analyze the panel and in-game data, several scales on MSP-outcome and process were defined and validated. In this paper the authors present the main insights of the pre-game panel study. They conclude that the differences in approaches to the MSP process and outcomes among the real countries are significant. ; Multi Actor Systems ; Technology, Policy and Management

Ports are known to be one of the most polluting sectors, and therefore provide an opportunity to reduce emission significantly. Until now, the attention has been given to reduction of emissions in transport and shipping. The scope of research must expand to include port infrastructures, which should be made more sustainable. In many industries, sustainable purchasing and procurement is already integrated, but the procurement by port authorities for construction works seems to be lagging behind. The objective of this paper is to promote sustainable procurement, through preparing a tool, method or model that can be easily used by all stakeholders. The research has been divided into four phases: Analysis, Synthesis, Simulation and Evaluation. In the first phase, i.e. Analysis, insight is gained in the processes for (sustainable) procurement of different institutions and stakeholders, e.g. governments, port authorities and contractors. In addition, the legal aspects of procurement are examined. In the next phase, i.e., Synthesis, a procurement model is set up. This requires a selection of procurement criteria based on Life Cycle Analysis, and a selection of weight factors to be assigned to the various criteria. The format and type of model too needs to be determined based on requirements such as flexibility, stability and user-friendliness. During the third step, i.e., Simulation the model is tested using reference contracts from current or existing projects. The impact of different criteria can be examined in this manner and, eventually, the model can be adapted. In the last step, Evaluation and recommendations over the application of the model will be given. ; Hydraulic Engineering ; Civil Engineering and Geosciences

The Washington Conference regulated the inter-war naval race between the world powers. In the era when it was still believed that battleships were the epitome of naval power and a sign of a country's strength, this conference led to limitations on the building of such weapons by the naval powers of Britain, the USA and Japan. This collection of essays deals with many aspects of the conference; the factors that caused it, the interests of the participating nations both present and future, and the results

In Swahili Forum III Elena Bertoncini-Zubkova (1996) discussed some of the political criticisms, expressed in the form of literary motifs and imagery, that emerged in the works of the Tanzanian Swahili writer Euphrase Kezilahabi since 1978 onwards. She situates this emergent critique in the new political discoursive context where critical reviews of the Ujamaa policy could now be publicly voiced since President Nyerere himself admitted the failure of Ujamaa in his delivery Azimio la Arusha baada ya Miaka Kumi (The Arusha Declaration Ten Years Later, 1977). According to Bertoncini this admission `clear[ed] the way for critical literary works` of which Kezilahabi satirical play Kaputula la Marx (Marx`s Shorts, 1978) and his short story Mayai- Waziri wa maradhi (Eggs- Minister of Sickness, 1978) were among the first.

The ICJ's Opinion on Kosovo of 22 July 2010 has touched upon many pivotal questions of international law. This book contains a comprehensive stock-taking on this subject written by several international law experts from different European countries.

Government agencies and businesses cooperate and invest heavily to achieve reliable and secure global supply networks. A so-called data pipeline, which integrates data from various parties in the supply chain and incorporates data from new tracking and monitoring technologies, would enable real-time data management for businesses. This IT infrastructure has a global scale, since it has to function both within and across countries and continents. Governments can use this data pipeline to improve the coordination of border management and reduce the administrative burden for businesses. Furthermore, businesses and government can collaborate to capitalize on modern IT and use the innovation for improving risk and data management. This paper explains a conceptual model of the data pipeline and its governance implications. As this global infrastructure cannot be built by government alone but needs to be largely realized by businesses, a public-private governance model is needed. Governments, and even supra-national institutions, would need to create the right technical, organizational, and legal environment (e.g. standards, harmonization of procedures, mutual recognition), and have to provide alternative incentives to stimulate the development of those parts of the pipeline that are without commercially viable business models. ; Infrastructures, Systems and Services ; Technology, Policy and Management

We developed a new education curriculum called "ALPS" (Active Learning Project Sequence) at Keio University that emphasizes team project-based learning and design thinking with systems engineering techniques. ALPS is a 6 month course, in which students work as a team and design and propose innovative systems. Students identify requirements, propose solution scenarios, and define competitive products or service systems. The multi-university faculty team consists of members of one Japanese university (Keio University), two US universities (Stanford University and MIT), and one European university (TU Delft). The faculty team members from these universities teach design thinking methods and systems engineering methods along a "V model" roadmap. Each year, the university team announces a grand theme. The themes we announced so far were "Enhancing Senior Life in Japan" in 2008, "Creation of Sustainable Community" in 2009, "Safety and Security" in 2010, and "Symbiosis and Synergy" in 2011. Since 2010, the university team asked companies, government, and nonprofit organizations to propose a project based on the grand theme. Proposer organizations work with Keio University early on to define the project and define project requirements. At the end of the 6 months, the final deliverable is an in-depth analysis and recommendations on the problem, based on the latest insights developed at participating universities. By proposing an ALPS project, proposer organizations can encounter fresh, innovative ideas by the mixed student body of multinational/ cultural/professional backgrounds and experience sophisticated system design methods. ; Infrastructures, Systems and Services ; Technology, Policy and Management

Over recent years there have been several initiatives around the world that aim to roll out smart metering systems, especially within North America and member states of the European Union. Smart metering systems, giving essential conditions for smart grids in the energy sector, can offer services aimed at achieving many different goals beyond the main task of metering electricity consumption of households. Despite the many advantages gained by the smart metering system, there is a number of serious issues that may lead to the system's failure or inability to reach its goals. One such obstacle which can lead to consumers' rejection of smart meters is perceived security and privacy violations of consumers' information. The social rejection of smart meters poses a significant threat to a successful rollout and operation of the system as consumers represent a cornerstone in the fulfillment of goals such as energy efficiency and savings, by their active interaction with the smart meters. To investigate consumers' perception of smart meters theories and models from the technology acceptance literature can be used for understanding consumers' behaviors, and exploring possible factors that can have a significant impact on consumers' acceptance and usage of a smart meter. In this paper, a first-stage hybrid model of a two well-known technology acceptance theories is presented. These theories are: the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Usage of Technology- UTAUT, and Innovation Diffusion Theory- IDT. The hybrid model is further extended with additional acceptance determinants derived from the smart metering case in the Dutch context. The model aims to investigate determinants that can help shed the light on consumers' perception of the system and its acceptance. ; Infrastructures, Systems and Services ; Technology, Policy and Management

There is a growing tendency to release all sorts of public data on the Internet. The greater availability of interoperable public data catalyses secondary use of such data, which leads to growth of information industries and better government transparency. Open data policies may, nevertheless, be in conflict with the individual's right to information privacy as protected by the Data Protection Directive. This directive sets rules to the processing of personal data in the European Union. Technological developments and the increasing amount of publicly available data are, however, blurring the lines between non-personal and personal data. Open data may not seem to be personal data on first glance especially when it is anonymised or aggregated. However, it may become personal data by combining it with other publicly available data or when it is de-anonymised. In this article, we argue that these developments extend the reach of European Union privacy regulation to open data, which may obstruct the implementation of open data policies in the European Union. ; OTB Research Institute for the Built Environment

The Dutch Delta Program is currently developing new government policies for flood protection and fresh water supply. Decision support instruments have to address the program's technical and political complexity. The water system functions are highly interwoven and would benefit from an integrated approach on a national level, with decisions supported by a scientific Systems Analysis. Politically, there is a tendency towards broad participation and decentralization, and decision-making is typically supported by Conflict Resolution methods. To connect these two sides of the Delta Program's task, an outline is presented of an internet community-based interactive instrument, preliminarily named SimDelta. On-line interactive maps and elements of serious gaming intuitively provide local Delta Program participants insight into the interaction between scenarios, problems, and solutions. SimDelta uses the internet to more frequently and efficiently present conceptual designs by architects and engineers to the Delta Program stakeholders, record their preferences, and "crowdsource" corrections, improvements and new ideas. ; Water Management ; Civil Engineering and Geosciences

Although constructing a district heating network could be portrayed as a simple cost/benefit calculation, we suggest that other factors play an important role that cannot be ignored. In this contribution, we suggest that theories concerning cooperation (in industrial networks) roughly apply to micro (e.g. attitudes toward risk and trust), meso (e.g. social networks and club memberships) and macro (e.g. legislation and culture) influences. Given this framework, we present two case studies of district heating networks in the Netherlands and indicate to what extent the identified influences apply. We conclude that all three layers of analysis should be included in a feasibility assessment. ; Infrastructures, Systems and Services ; Technology, Policy and Management

The main objectives of the Third Gas Directive (2009/73EC) approved by the European Union are: unbundling, creating an independent Transport Service Operator (TSO) and ensuring free access to the market. The separation of gas trading from transportation activities required new market rules and gas balancing. Thereby, the TSO's responsibilities are to maintain network pressures within acceptable bounds and to assure residual balancing whereas shippers must ensure adequate gas supplies. Each party involved in natural gas transport can contribute to maintaining the network in balance. If the pressure in the network grid fluctuates beyond certain bounds, each party is responsible for injecting/extracting gas into/out of the network to restore the pressure and keep the balance. The shippers' role is to balance the system if necessary and to ensure enough capacity booked for the natural gas transport. The booking capacity and the uncertainty in gas demand/supply due to alternative fuels, make it difficult for the shippers to deal with capacity booking management. An agent-based model (ABM) is developed for understanding the mechanisms of booking the network such that the system is in balance yet capacity is available to ensure a safe and reliable operation of the grid. It simulates and different booking strategies of shippers. ABM create a flexible environment for experimentation by transposing actors (from the real life) into agents (in the model). They present a promising modelling approach for socio-technical systems to support decision makers. The natural gas supply and demand is simulated; transactions between the parties are being done as well as the call of BPL, if needed. The simulations are used to investigate (new behavioral) strategies of the shippers regarding the network capacity booking. The paper presents the simulation results and reflects on the different strategies and their associated social costs. ; Infrastructures, Systems and Services ; Technology, Policy and Management

The aim of this paper is to examine government–university–community partnerships for knowledge mobilization (KM) and knowledge transfer (KT) in the area of immigration and settlement research using the illustrative case of the Canadian Metropolis Project. The Metropolis Project in Canada began in 1995 with the goal of enhancing policy-oriented research capacity for immigration and settlement and developing ways to better use this research in government decision-making. Core funding for this partnership was provided jointly by Citizenship Immigration Canada (CIC), a department of the Government of Canada and the primary social science granting agency, the Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). As of 2012, and subsequent to three successful funding phases, the decision was made to end government and SSHRC core funding for this initiative, however, other non-governmental funding avenues are being explored. The longevity of this partnership and the conclusion of this specific initiative present an opportunity to reflect critically on the nature of such partnerships. This paper is an attempt to identify some of the key themes, issues and challenges related to research partnerships, KM and KT. Also, with the aid of an illustrative case, it aims to specify some of the possibilities and limitations of this kind of policy relevant knowledge mobilization. Special consideration will be placed on the context in which the demand for knowledge mobilization and knowledge transfer has emerged. This examination has considerable international relevance as the Canadian Metropolis Project offers the leading example of a research partnership in the field of immigration and settlement. ; Shields, J., & Evans, B. (2012). Building a policy-oriented research partnership for knowledge mobilization and knowledge transfer: The case of the canadian metropolis project. Administrative Sciences, 2(4), 250-272. doi:10.3390/admsci2040250